For the first time ever, there are Russian volunteers at Region 8: a subdivision of the Immigration Department charged with patrolling touristic areas and providing assistance to travellers.

All are young women, but Luiza Goryanskaya from Siberia doesn?t necessarily see this as a hindrance to her duties.

?It really doesn?t matter if you are male or female. Ok we can?t fight, although I can protect myself, but in negotiations I believe women can be more effective. We can talk and calm the situation down much quicker than men.?

Luiza, like her 24-year-old patrol partner Olesya Dulskaya, has been a regular volunteer for Region 8 for a little over six months.

The reason, at least for Olesya is pretty simple, ?If I live here and I can help, then why not? My mum used to be a police officer for 30 years in Russia as well. She?s proud of me for doing this.?

Many of the problems, from frequent motorbike accidents, fracases with ladyboys and reluctances to pay ?on-the-spot? fines stem from a common cause: the inability to communicate.

This according to Luiza leads to frustration, which ultimately leads to many of her countrymen getting into trouble.

?One incident,? began Olesya with a smile on her face, ?involved a man getting drunk, ranting and raving and going down to the police station. A police officer rang me so I rushed down and the ?problem? turned out to be that that they had left their umbrella in a tuk tuk.?

Although this was a relatively rare and isolated incident, the reason for this flare up and all the others according to Luiza is the same, ?95% of Russians don?t speak English never mind Thai.?

Another contributing factor to this lack of communication is the fact that it has only become recently possible for Russians to really leave their country and visit abroad. ?Before the last 10 -15 years we had no real political or financial chance to leave,? added Luiz.

This the pair admit has meant that the majority of Russians have not really been exposed to different cultures and ways of life and are perhaps not aware that things are different here. There?s a certain level of arrogance, which a lot of English-speaking nations can surely identify with, of ?I?m Russian, why they don?t speak Russian? We are here, why aren?t the menus in Russian??

Although a walk through Patong or Karon will reveal that there are a lot of menus now printed in Russian, there are also a lot more Russians in Phuket than there ever were.
Bangornrat Chinaprayoon, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand said, ?There were 150,000 Russian visitors to Phuket this year, an increase of more than 30%.?

As a direct result of more charter flights, the typical type of Russian visitor has also changed, ?Tourists come from everywhere in Russia these days; it?s no longer just the case that the moneyed people from Moscow come as Phuket is no longer a luxurious place anymore.?

?The other main cause of problems,? believes Olseya, ?is that they don?t think the law applies to them, (L: they leave their heads in Moscow) so they drink lots of alcohol and drive their bikes and don?t wear helmets.?

The sight of either of the Russian women turning up at the police station is usually one for sore eyes. Olseya said, ?Most of the time the tourists are relieved to see us and able to communicate. They are also thankful that the situation can be resolved so quickly, often within an hour after the fine has been paid. In Russia everything takes such a long time, forms have to be filled out etc.?

The pair typically patrol once or twice a week, whenever their work schedule allows it. Luiza and Olseya, like all the staff at the tourist volunteer organisations do this without any benefits for themselves and to help the community.

They both started for similar reasons, Luiza said, ?We both used to be travel guides for the Russian travel guide market so frequently saw the problems that occurred. The guide is typically the first point of contact for any problems.?

It?s not just about rectifying problems though, often it?s also about answering questions and providing information on immigration issues, putting them in touch with the next level of contact, whether that is the police or nearest hospital.

Up until recently man of the Russian visitors had few people to turn to, so when the helpful pair enquired to see if Walter Brown the co-ordinator of Region 8 need any help. He gracefully accepted and they have been providing a valuable service ever since. Walter is even currently set to appoint another Russian female officer.

Perhaps when Russian men see their ladyfolk providing such a valuable service they might themselves volunteer.